Foes Contend State Prison Will Harm Land Values : Antelope Valley Group Disputes New Report

Opponents of a proposed prison in the Antelope Valley said Friday that they do not believe new state findings that the proposed 2,200-prisoner facility would not significantly harm property values.

State officials released a report this week analyzing development in the area since the announcement in 1987 of the planned maximum- and medium-security prison at Avenue J and 60th Street West in northwest Lancaster.

The report concluded that property values have not suffered except in a small area near the proposed 232-acre site. And the report predicted that because western Lancaster is growing so rapidly, even the value of property closest to the prison will catch up.

The report was prepared by a consultant hired to review the findings on property values contained in a voluminous environmental impact study released in January by the state Department of Corrections.

The chairwoman of the Antelope Valley Prison Committee, a group of residents, business people and government officials who oppose the prison, said Friday that the consultant reached the same faulty conclusions as the January report.

‘Impacted Values’

“We know that since this was announced in 1987, the prison site has impacted property values,” said the chairwoman, real estate broker Danielle Marvin. “We want to show the state Legislature that things have not changed in this community regarding this site. It isn’t that we don’t understand the need for a prison. But we don’t feel the state understands the amount of opposition.”

Lewis said builders and lenders with whom she deals are keeping a close eye on the prison issue. She said their concerns have adversely affected development in the area despite rapid growth in western Lancaster.

The decision to put the prison in the Antelope Valley resulted from a 1987 “pain-for-pain” accord between Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature. The agreement was that a prison would be built in heavily Democratic East Los Angeles only if another prison needed in the county were built in the Antelope Valley, which is heavily Republican.

Both communities have protested bitterly as the proposals go through the environmental review process.

Lancaster city officials say they will sue if James Rowland, Department of Corrections director, approves the proposal. Written responses to the latest report can be sent to the Department of Corrections until Oct. 31, and a final decision is expected by mid-December, said Judith McGillivray of the corrections department.

If the site is approved, opponents will have 45 days to file suit.

The proposed site is on county land in the rural Mira Loma area of Lancaster near a County Jail facility housing about 1,600 prisoners.